Reasonable asking price for my X500?

[jenkinsph]

Tim,
My reasoning for keeping the x500 is simply that it is setup best for mowing the lawn areas and is much lighter in weight which is ideal for this. The tractor you buy for other improvements can then be ballasted for more traction with R1 tires, fluid and have a fel which is ideal for ground engaging tasks. The long and short of it is the mower should be light and the tractor should be heavy. The other real plus is the mower is ready for lawn work in the summer and snow work in the winter without much setup changes.


I used a freinds 4300 with a fel and hoe on it before buying the larger compacts and find it is too small for much ground engagement work. Guess it depends on what you plan to do on your other 8.5 acres. For smoothing, contouring, planing and grading I have found that anything below about 4000 lbs is too light to get much work done. That is too heavy to mow the lawn.

Good luck with your endeavors.

 

[Tim640]

Ok, you guys have talked me out of it. You've raised some very good points. There is a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum.

I'll keep the X500 for now, and break out the snow plow and rear blade and sell those, since the 4310 will do a much better job with those tasks.

Steve - I'll need the 4wd of the 4310 to handle the snow. More accurately, to manage the traction on my asphalt driveway. There are some steep hills that the X500 can't manage with its 2wd, even with the plow raised. Chains don't help, on asphalt - they just spin and wreck the seal coat.

I understand your point about the weight of the 4300 vs larger tractors for ground engagement. I think I'll just have to sort through that one. Hopefully the 4310 is up to the tasks I'll be taking on with it. I have some good hills, and was guessing I might need to add some weight anyway for stability and traction, but I haven't thought all that through yet. I figure the 4310 will be capable for 90% of what I need to do over the long haul - brush cutting, pasture mowing, postholing, light grading, and maintaining the arena (which doesn't exist yet, btw). I'm learning as I go... I guess any serious ground engagement that is beyond the 4310's capabilities can be hired out or I can rent something bigger for those specific tasks.

Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate it.

 

[Tim640]

So my wife comes home tonight to find me messing with the cutting height on the MX5. I pull the 4310 into the driveway, and she gets to see it (and hear it) for the first time.

She says, "wow, that's a real tractor! You're going to mow the lawn with THAT?" :laughing:

I may have just gotten off the hook.

 

[RoyJackson]

So my wife comes home tonight to find me messing with the cutting height on the MX5. I pull the 4310 into the driveway, and she gets to see it (and hear it) for the first time.

She says, "wow, that's a real tractor! You're going to mow the lawn with THAT?" :laughing:

I may have just gotten off the hook.

I mow an acre with my 4400 (72" RFM behind it).

 

[Adirondaks]

I mowed 4 acres with my 4410 72MMM. More field then lawn if it gets wet the weight of the 4410 can be a problem. But when it is dry it is fast. Used the FEL and MX5 to cut ATVtrails. Anything the FEL can put down that cutter can cut. It is tough.

 

[beenthere]

So my wife comes home tonight to find me messing with the cutting height on the MX5. I pull the 4310 into the driveway, and she gets to see it (and hear it) for the first time.

She says, "wow, that's a real tractor! You're going to mow the lawn with THAT?" :laughing:

I may have just gotten off the hook.

Good to receive a comment like that. Great excuse to keep the X500.
I was surprised that package didn't get a bid on eBay. If you have room to store, it may sell in the spring or late winter.

 

[Tenn_Blue]

You will be glad you keep the mower! We went through the same process a while back. Got a 2320 and the mid-mount mower to go with it. BUT.....

The ROPS on the tall sitting tractor doesn't fit under the trees. Some of the areas we cut (about 10 acres total) are sloped and you have to be careful cutting them with the tractor (the riding mower doesn't seem as tippy on them). The fenced dog yard has some tight areas that the smaller mower works better in. Etc...

While we use the tractor for the fields and the bulk of the cutting, we keep an LX173 for cutting around the house and problem areas. It's also nice that 2 people can be cutting at the same time, so it goes quicker!